All posts tagged Margaret Atwood

The WSJ Book Club wrapped up its discussion of Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic fantasy “A Wizard of Earthsea” with a live video chat with our host Margaret Atwood. Ms. Atwood chose the book, which she calls one of the “wellsprings” of fantasy literature, and led readers through it over the course of a month.

The book follows a young wizard, Ged, on his quest to find and confront a mysterious shadow. His journey takes him to new, sometimes dangerous, territories across the world of “Earthsea.” Along the way, he encounters powerful people, creatures, and objects.

This week, we’ll be discussing power—the right uses of power and the conservation of power. Readers, what do you think about the uses of power in “A Wizard of Earthsea”? Read More »

The WSJ Book Club is reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1968 fantasy epic “A Wizard of Earthsea” this month, with Margaret Atwood as our host. “A Wizard of Earthsea” follows a gifted young wizard, Ged, destined for greatness. It’s a quest story, and like other quest stories the hero faces certain temptations along the way.

Readers, what do you think about the temptations Ged has faced so far? Which ones did you enjoy most? Were there any you found confusing? Read More »

Our WSJ Book Club host this month is Margaret Atwood, best-selling author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the MaddAddam trilogy. She has selected Ursula K. Le Guin’s epic fantasy novel “A Wizard of Earthsea,” a book she calls one of the “wellsprings” of fantasy literature. Ms. Atwood will be leading a discussion through the book over the next several weeks.

We’ll be reading “A Wizard of Earthsea” over the next month, with weekly discussion questions here on Speakeasy. Participate by visiting WSJ.com/bookclub, the Facebook page, or follow on Twitter via #WSJbookclub. Ms. Atwood, who published a book of short stories, “Stone Mattress: Nine Tales,” last month, will answer readers’ questions in a live video chat in mid-November.

Ask a crime writer to sum up what’s great about “Hamlet,” and you’ll likely get a laundry list of dark and creepy themes.

“Murder, betrayal, revenge, deceit, madness — all my favorite things,” Gillian Flynn said in a statement released by the imprint Hogarth, which announced today that it will publish Ms. Flynn’s novelization of Hamlet.

Ms. Flynn is the latest author to tackle the Bard’s work as part of Hogarth Shakespeare, a new series of novels that pairs high-profile authors with Shakespearean dramas. Her novel “Gone Girl,” a thriller about a toxic marriage tainted by manipulation and lies, has sold some 6.5 million copies globally and is being released this fall as a film starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Read More »

Bestselling Norwegian thriller writer Jo Nesbø, 53, who has sold millions books detailing the investigations of tough detective Harry Hole, has been commissioned by Hogarth UK to write a prose retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Other authors who have signed on to do a prose version of Shakespeare’s plays are Margaret Atwood (“The Tempest”), Howard Jacobson (“The Merchant of Venice”), Jeanette Winterson (“A Winter’s Tale”), and Anne Tyler (“The Taming of the Shrew.”)

Hogarth says the series of modern retellings, which will be published in 2016 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, will stay true to the spirit of the original plays but offer the authors an opportunity to reinvent the dramas for the modern reader. Read More »

When Alice Munro responded to the news that she had won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature, she made a point of referencing her country. “I’m particularly glad that winning this award will please so many Canadians,” she said. “I’m happy, too, that this will bring more attention to Canadian writing.”

Nobel prizewinners know that they are receiving their award as individuals, not as representatives of their nations. Understanding Munro’s unusual statement requires understanding the history of Canadian literature.

Though Canada has been around since 1867, its literature, in the eyes of the world, has not. Some years ago Margaret Atwood noted that, “it was said that Canadian literature didn’t exist, that Canadian identity didn’t exist, but when you wrote a novel, the Americans and the British said, ‘This is too Canadian for us.’” Read More »

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Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.